Virginia opossums are pushing the northern edge of their range in Massachusetts. North America’s only marsupial has thin fur and bare ears and a tail poorly suited to New England winters, so frostbite losses are common here in a way they aren’t farther south. Records cluster around Blue Hills Reservation and Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, mixed woodland and wetland edges that offer denning cover close to the suburban trash and gardens this opportunistic feeder relies on.
Reports carry two peaks, April and October, rather than one clear season. The spring rise likely reflects opossums moving more as they den-hunt and breed, while the fall bump comes as this year’s young disperse to find territory of their own before winter closes in.
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